Current status of the Nymphalidae family (Insecta, Lepidoptera) in western regions of Ukraine

Abstract

There are original data of the current state of Nymphalidae family in the regions of Western Ukraine in this article. The entomological materials were collected during the own expedition and the teacher training of the students of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University. The insects were collected during 2021. The species composition of the diurnal butterflies was conducted. The taxonomic affiliation of the insects was carried out, using modern books of determinants of insects, the atlases and online sources. The list of species of Nymphalidae family is formed according to Nieukerken et al. (2011). The collection of the entomological material was carried out according to the norms of the environmental legislation. These insects are in the collections of The Botany and Zoology Department. The insects were collected in Zakarpattia, Lviv, Volyn, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Chernivtsi and Khmelnytskyi regions. The species composition of the collected insects was analysed. 13 species of Nymphalidae family were identified in the studied regions. We studied 80 individuals of Nymphalidae family. The investigated insects belong to 11 genera: Coenonympha Hübner, Maniola Schrank, Aphantopus Wallengren, Melanargia Meigen, Vanessa Fabricius, Inachis Hübner, Agalis Dalman, Polygonia Hübner, Araschnia Hübner, Issoria Hübner and Argynnis Fabricius. We identified that some species of Nymphalidae family are common in Ukraine. The largest number of individuals of this family was calculated. The most popular were Maniola jurtina L., Vanessa atalanta L. and Inachis io L. There were several individuals of Araschnia levana L., Issoria lathonia L. and Argynnis aglaja L. in the entomological collection. We will conduct the systematic entomological studies of the fauna of Ukraine in order to do a detailed analysis of Nymphalidae family and to do the ecological and faunal inventory of the insects. These data can be used for the further analysis of the changes of species diversity of Nymphalidae family.